Irina Bokova
Irina Bokova in 2008
Born	12 July 1952 (1952-07-12) (age 57) Sofia, Bulgaria
Residence	Paris, France
Alma mater	Moscow State Institute of International Relations
Occupation	Director-General of UNESCO
Spouse(s)	Lubomir Kolarov (divorced), Kalin Mitrev
Children	Paul and Naia
Website www.irinabokova.com

Irina Georgieva Bokova (Bulgarian: Ирина Георгиева Бокова) (born 12 July 1952) is a Bulgarian politician. She was member of the Bulgarian Parliament from the Bulgarian Socialist Party for two terms, minister and deputy minister of foreign affairs in the socialist cabinet of Prime Minister Zhan Videnov,^[1] and was Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to France^[2] and to Monaco, Permanent Delegate of Bulgaria to UNESCO and Personal Representative of the President of Bulgaria to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (2005-2009). On 22 September 2009, Bokova was elected Director-General of UNESCO. On 15 October 2009, The 35th Session of the General Conference elected Irina Bokova of Bulgaria as the tenth Director-General of UNESCO.

Contents 1 Childhood and early years 2 Education 3 Career 3.1 Current positions 3.2 Parliamentary experience 3.3 Civil Society experience 3.4 Ministry of Foreign Affairs experience 3.5 Party Affiliation 3.6 UNESCO 4 Criticism 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Childhood and early years

Irina Bokova is the daughter of the controversial communist-era politician Georgi Bokov,^[3] who worked as editor-in-chief of Rabotnichesko Delo, the official newspaper and organ of the Bulgarian Communist Party.^[4] By descent Bokova is Bulgarian fom Macedonia.^[5] Bokova is a graduate of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Subsequently, as a member of the Bulgarian Communist Party and its successor, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, Bokova made a career in Bulgaria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, eventually becoming Minister in 1996.

[edit] Education

• 1971: First English Language School, Sofia.
• 1976: Moscow State Institute of International Relations, M.Sc. in international relations.
• Jan. - Aug. 1989: University of Maryland, School of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C., Program on US foreign policy decision-making process.
• 1992 - 1994: NATO fellow, Program for Central and Eastern Europe on democratic institutions focusing on the national and legal mechanism for the protection of minorities.
• Nov. - Dec. 1999: Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Executive Program in Leadership and Economic Development.^[6]

[edit] Career

[edit] Current positions

• Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to France.
• Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Principality of Monaco.^[6]
• Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Bulgaria to UNESCO.
• Representative of the Bulgarian Government to the Executive Board of UNESCO (since the election of Bulgaria in October 2007).
• Personal Representative of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria to Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).
• Deputy Chairperson, Group of Francophone Countries at UNESCO.
• Chairperson of the Second Extraordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (February 2008, Sofia).
• Member of the Literary group Prix des Ambassadeur.

[edit] Parliamentary experience

• Deputy Chairperson of the Foreign Policy, Defense and Security Committee.
• Member of the European Integration Committee.
• Deputy Chairperson of the Joint Parliamentary Committee Bulgaria – European Union.

[edit] Civil Society experience

• Founder and Chairperson of the European Policy Forum (since its inception in Sofia in 1997), a non-profit, non-governmental organization.

[edit] Ministry of Foreign Affairs experience

November 1996 - February 1997:

• Minister of Foreign Affairs, cabinet of Zhan Videnov, Bulgarian Socialist Party

June 1995 - February 1997, other positions held in the cabinet of Zhan Videnov, Bulgarian Socialist Party:

• First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs in charge of UN, OSCE, EU and NATO.
• Chief co-ordinator of Bulgaria–EU relations.^[6]
• Co-Chairperson, Bulgaria – EU Association Committee.^[6]
• National PHARE Co-ordinator.^[6]
• Chairperson, Inter-Agency Co-ordination Commission on European Integration (at deputy ministerial level).
• Took part as head of delegation or keynote speaker in a number of international fora.
• Member of the Board of Trustees of the Centre for European Studies.

[edit] Party Affiliation

Bulgarian Communist Party -- 1980-90
Bulgarian Socialist Party -- 1990-present

[edit] UNESCO

On 22 September 2009, Bokova was elected Director-General of UNESCO.^[1] She defeated nine candidates at the election in Paris, with Farouk Hosny ultimately being defeated by 31-27 in the fifth and last round of voting.^[1][2] Hosny had been expected to win but attracted criticism from figures such as Nobel Peace laureate Elie Wiesel over his anti-Israel statements.^[1][7] She takes over the position from Koïchiro Matsuura of Japan.^[1] She will serve in this office for a four-year period.^[2] Bokova is both the first woman and the first Eastern European to take this role.^[1] On 15 October 2009, The 35th Session of the General Conference elected Irina Bokova of Bulgaria as the tenth Director-General of UNESCO. The investiture took place in a ceremony in Room I in the afternoon of Friday 23 October 2009.

[edit] Criticism

While the vast majority of the Bulgarian media has been supportive^[8] of Ms. Bokova's future role at the helm of UNESCO, a few negative reactions based on her pedigree as a member of the totalitarian communist elite were heard^[9]. Thus, the Bulgarian-born, Germany-based writer Iliya Troyanov criticised Bokova's election as Director-General of UNESCO in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, calling it "a scandal", in light of Bokova's past.^[10]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website (under Creative Commons License)